late 14c., "to furnish with corners," from corner (n.). Meaning "to turn a corner," as in a race, is 1860s; meaning "drive (someone) into a corner" is American English from 1824. Commercial sense is from 1836. Related: Cornered; cornering.

late 13c., from Anglo-French cornere (Old French corniere), from Old French corne "horn, corner," from Vulgar Latin *corna, from Latin cornua, plural of cornu "projecting point, end, horn," from PIE root *ker- (1) "horn; head." Replaced Old English hyrne. As an adjective, from 1530s. To be just around the corner in the extended sense of "about to happen" is by 1905.